Huayu 1995

Chapter 20 imparts lessons learned from failure.

“We found out about a few places, one of which is located on the second floor of a tobacco and liquor store on Wenhuiyuan Road. It’s a bit more legitimate, but the price is very expensive, 100 yuan an hour. They say they have connections in the Cultural Bureau.”

Guo Xiaodong felt frustrated during his investigation.

They have connections within the Cultural Bureau, what do they have?
"Anyone can brag. I could say I know the deputy director of the Cultural Bureau."

Su Chao dismissed it with disdain.

He discovered that employees had to be trained before the training courses could begin.

If you don't even have confidence yourself, how can you guide your students to improve?

We are a subsidiary of the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA).

"Yes, even if it's true, would they dare to come forward? Even teachers from the Central Academy of Drama and Beijing Film Academy have to keep it a secret when they come out to give lectures."

Huang Bo also joined in.

He was a long-time Beijing drifter, and he was more tactful in his dealings with people, knowing all sorts of people.

"Let's leave that aside for now. Are there any others?"

Su Chao knew it wasn't that simple.

If someone truly has connections with the Bureau of Culture, there are countless ways they could do it.

But now they don't need to think about all that.

It's like if you've just graduated from kindergarten, you don't need to worry about whether you can get used to the food in Peking University's cafeteria.

"There are some art exam training classes in the area around the boiler room of the Central Academy of Fine Arts Affiliated High School. I heard that in the dead of winter, there are female art exam takers standing outside with bare legs practicing their posture. If you didn't know better, you would think it was a crackdown on prostitution."

"Is she in good shape? Should we go and check her out in person?"

"I remember someone saying that there was a basement studio behind the Beijing Film Studio, where people mingled with those who did that kind of business."

"They also have them at the Central Academy of Drama. Last winter, I even took classes at their bathhouse for only three yuan an hour. Some were run by students from the school, and some were even run by people who failed their art exams and were out scamming people..."

Everyone joined in the discussion, offering their own opinions.

"Damn it, someone who failed the art exam dares to open a training class and impart their experience of failure?"

Su Chao was worried about the children who had been deceived.

Lu Bu looked up at the sky and said, "Brother, at least they have experience with failure, while you haven't even taken the art exam. What right do you have to criticize them?"

Guo Xiaodong lowered his head.

That's right, I'm talking about him. He's the one who failed the art exam several times, and now he's preparing to train others.

"So, we must save these children now!"

Huang Bo didn't feel any psychological burden.

He even pirated cassette tapes, was chased by the police everywhere, and almost turned to a life of crime.

Well, if you don't catch it, it doesn't count.

"Air raid shelters, boiler rooms, demolished houses, basements, bathhouses... It seems I overestimated them."

I thought at the very least I'd have to sneak into a residential building.

Su Chao needs to reassess the feasibility of holding training classes in the courtyard.

Although the house was a haphazard construction, the courtyard was kept very clean. The courtyard was paved with bricks, and the original muddy path outside the courtyard was paved with cinders, leading directly to the main road.

There was neither sewage nor garbage.

It's much better than where Huang Bo and Zhou Xun live.

The only problem is that there are no restrooms; you have to go to a public toilet deep in the alley to relieve yourself.

It's a distance of four or five hundred meters.

If you have diarrhea, it's hard to say whether you can hold out until you get there.

"Could we build one..."

Suddenly, Lü Bu had a flash of inspiration and came up with a very constructive idea.

"Huh? Isn't that an illegal structure?"

Su Chao was shocked.

Don't blame him for being a reborn person who hasn't seen much of the world.

The main problem is that he was born in the 90s in his previous life, and by the time he arrived in Beijing in 2015, who would dare to build or construct things privately?

"The house we're in right now is an illegal structure. Half of the six houses in this yard are illegal additions!"

Lu Bu thought Su Chao was schizophrenic.

They're ruthless when it comes to beating people, and they run illegal brothels with a clear conscience, so why do they feel guilty about building a makeshift toilet?

"As long as there is a sewage well, a drainage pipe can be laid. I helped people unclog sewers for a while, so I know a bit about it."

Guo Xiaofeng thought it was feasible.

His younger brother, Guo Xiaodong, was no slacker either; he had worked in just as many different jobs as his brother. Upon hearing this, he immediately said:

“Lu Bu and I can find bricks and cement. We were carrying bricks at the construction site last week. It’s very close. Less than half of the broken bricks there are garbage and can only be used to fill holes. If we give the foreman two packs of cigarettes, we can bring them over for free and borrow their wheelbarrow.”

"Shouldn't we talk to the landlady first? She's a clean freak and has to clean the yard several times a day. She definitely won't agree to put a toilet in the yard easily."

Lu Bu poured cold water on everyone's enthusiasm.

“That’s easy. Let’s go find the landlady. I’ll do the talking, and you can do the straight man.”

Su Chao's greatest talent is deception.

When we're all working together to build a business, we can't let the younger members get all the limelight.

If you can't demonstrate superior skills, why should anyone let you be the boss? Why not just kick them out and do it yourself?
Do you really think you're the Thirteen Protectors?

Su Chao and Lü Bu went to the convenience store and spoke a few words with the landlady, who immediately agreed.

When he came out, Lü Bu's face was full of admiration.

Others were curious about how Su Chao managed to persuade an elderly woman with obsessive-compulsive disorder about cleanliness.

Actually, Su Chao didn't do anything.

He simply disrupted the logical order of things.

He didn't come up and say he wanted to build a toilet in the yard.

Instead, he asked the landlady if there was any place nearby that he could rent to run a training class.

The landlady was immediately tempted upon hearing this.

He countered by asking Su Chao if it would be alright to clear out a room for him in the courtyard.

If Su Chao could rent two rooms in the courtyard, her place would be fully booked, and the convenience store would do even better. So Su Chao started acting.

He was initially hesitant, saying that the rent here was too expensive, and that a friend of his ran a training class in the basement for only 150 yuan.

The landlord was so angry he almost started cursing.

They actually compared her house to her basement.

Her house is slated for demolition, not a dilapidated building. Both the building quality and the sanitary conditions are dozens of times better than those of a basement.

Even the illegally built rooms were constructed with bricks and tiles, not corrugated iron roofs.

That thing can reach a maximum indoor temperature of 60 degrees Celsius in the summer, and it's not even warm enough in the winter when you burn coal and get carbon monoxide poisoning.

Her rent is indeed expensive, but you get what you pay for.

Soon after, Su Chao pointed out that there were no toilets here, and the public toilets were too far away.

Unless the landlady builds a toilet for them.

The landlady was immediately displeased; having a toilet in the yard would be so dirty.

Moreover, this is no small job; we need to hire someone.

Lu Bu tried to smooth things over, saying that if toilets were built, they could stipulate that only urination should be allowed, and defecation should be done in public toilets.

Anyone who violates this rule will be fined 100 yuan per violation, and the person who reports it will be rewarded.

Then, students are assigned to clean the area each day.

As for building toilets, they can help.

But the landlady has to provide meals.

Su Chao played the good cop, and after a few back-and-forths, the landlady was finally persuaded to agree.

Su Chao rented two rooms in the courtyard.

Five hundred yuan for the main hall, four hundred yuan for the adjacent east wing, plus help answering the phone, and I can give her a thousand yuan a month.

"Wow, you're amazing! How come your brain works so well?"

Huang Bo is now completely convinced, which explains why Lu Bu and others are so obedient to Su Chao.

However, he was even more confused.

Why did Su Chao invite him to work together last night?

Things were alright in Qingdao, but ever since he came to Beijing, it's like he's fallen into hell, and everyone treats him like a clown.

He had to speak Qingdao dialect and act like a country bumpkin in front of the bar patrons just to barely make a living.

Ultimately, everyone just wants to see him make a fool of himself.

Su Chao was different. He introduced himself without any sarcasm or ridicule, which made Su Chao wonder at first if this guy was just too good at talking.

When he mustered up his courage and shamelessly approached him, Su Chao accepted him without hesitation.

Last night when they were having barbecue, he didn't feel that Su Chao treated him like an outsider.

Even more outrageous, Su Chao actually paid him a salary.

He kept the two hundred yuan, not intending to spend it, wanting to keep it as a souvenir.

"Alright, stop flattering me, Brother Chao doesn't like it~"

Lu Bu interrupted him, saying that he himself had contributed to this as well.

“Since we’ve decided to do it, let’s split up. Feng, you’re in charge of planning the drainage system and cleaning up the yard and rooms first; Dongzi, you and Abu go find the foreman and borrow some tools; Bozi, go find somewhere nearby to buy used tables and chairs…”

Su Chao assigned the work.

No one else would have any objections.

Su Chao couldn't sit idle either; he needed to write a teaching material.

In the early training courses, the main teaching material used was a mimeographed copy of Stanislavski's "An Actor Creates a Character".

It mainly comes in two versions.

The first method is to extract it directly from the first edition of "The Complete Works of Stanislavsky" in 1963.

Another version is the 87 revised edition, which improved the translation and added case studies of "The Pain of Wisdom" and "Othello".

The book labeled by the Beijing Film Academy as a "classic reading of acting tutorials" is the 2006 popular edition.

This version is more valuable for teaching.

Without suitable teaching materials, apart from those training classes that can invite teachers from Beijing Film Academy and Central Academy of Drama to teach, all others can be said to be making money against their conscience.

The teaching materials that Su Chao is currently compiling can be described as a quick guide to art exam preparation.

They are all high-quality products that have been selected through rigorous testing.

The concept of "audio audition" became popular in later generations. Whether you have something to offer or not, art students can find out by comparing different options.

These teaching materials are a clear case of "dimensional reduction attack".

When it was lunchtime, Guo Xiaodong and Lü Bu returned pushing two carts of broken bricks, accompanied by two workers.

"We borrowed it from the foreman. He paid us fifty yuan a day, saying he could finish building it for us in one afternoon... The two of them were building the house, and the two of us were carrying the bricks."

Lü Bu was also a capable man.

"Well done!"

Su Chao was extremely satisfied with the 100 yuan he had spent.

Their half-baked toilet construction always makes one worry about the risk of collapse.

At that point, I'll probably have to run away with my pants up.

Now that we don't need so many people, everyone can free up their hands to do other things.

Huang Bo found a batch of tables and chairs.

Su Chao told them to find a way to transport the goods back in the afternoon, while he went out to buy various things.

For example, light bulbs of different sizes and wattages are used; if the hardware is insufficient, the lighting can compensate, and the lighting atmosphere is also very important.

He also went to the flea market and bought some artistic decorations, which are key to making the training class seem more sophisticated.

Su Chao has a well-thought-out plan for the layout of the training venue.

Of course, money is spent like water.

If you want to make it look high-end, you'll still have to spend several hundred dollars no matter how much you try to save money.

He also took the opportunity to visit the Central Academy of Drama.

(End of this chapter)